Worrying is Worthless Part 1

The dictionary defines worry as “to feel uneasy or anxious; fret; torment oneself with or suffer from disturbing thoughts.” Did you ever realize when you worry, you are inflicting torment on yourself? Worry is self-inflicted suffering, and it never produces anything good.

Jesus fully understood our propensity to worry, and he addressed it strongly in his Sermon on the Mount. From Matthew 6:25-34 we read:

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

I remember when my pastor, Dr. Erwin Lutzer, spoke on this passage. It was such a blessing to me, I asked his permission to share some of his thoughts with you. In this sermon Jesus gave us three reasons not to worry.

You Are a Child of God

First, if you are born from above and have been redeemed through Jesus Christ, you should not worry because of who you are! Jesus said that God takes care of little birds, and even though they cannot take care of their need for food, he provides food for them. And Jesus asks, “Are you not more valuable than they?” (Matthew 6:26b).

Well, are you more valuable to God than little birds? Surely the knowledge of how much God loves you, how deeply he cares for you should cause you to stop worrying. After all, your Heavenly Father is sovereign over everything and everyone in your life; he is always in control, and because we are his children, he has pledged to take care of our needs. So, that’s the first reason you should not worry. You are a child of God, and he never leaves you or forsakes you.

In this crazy world many people are worried about their job security, or worse, about trying to find a new job because they are unemployed or underemployed. That’s certainly understandable; we all depend on our sources of income, and if they are threatened, our natural human response is worry! I’ve been in such situations, and I must confess I’ve worried.

If you’re in this kind of worry mode, I simply want to remind you of what Jesus said: …your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well (Matthew 6:32-33). Jesus was talking about the basics of life: what you eat, what you wear—the necessities of life. And Jesus said it is his responsibility to give those to us, when we seek first his kingdom. If God takes care of unemployed birds, don’t you know he’s committed to taking care of you? Sure, the birds must hunt for their worms and insects, but God provides it for them to find.

Notice Jesus said we should not seek for our basic needs. Rather Jesus said we are to seek first his kingdom and his righteousness. So, instead of praying that God will give you the material things you need—instead of worrying about how you’re going to get what you need or what you want—pray instead that your priorities will change.

That’s what it means to seek first God’s ki